The group and new adventures

 

 

Hello all.  Not much to post, but I thought I would quickly share some stuff that has been going on.  It mainly involves new food/coffee places or being in the lab every day.

The first two photos are from a trip to Port Rush with one of the minions.  :)  (AKA: Placement student).  It was a great stress reliever as I had been in the lab since 5am with 2 hours of sleep and an experiment that didn't work.  So, he took me to Portrush as they have an amusement park every summer called Barrys.   I played some skee-ball, or ice ball as it is called here.  I also played 3 rounds of air hockey, which if anyone knows me, I get very defensive and hardly lose, but I lost 2 of the rounds to the minion who claims he has never lost a game.  He said I get very aggressive and defensive while playing.  I sure do love air hockey.  We finished off the night with me trying some well known Northern Irish ice cream.  I had Prosecco and Watermelon flavored, which was really good.  It was a nice stress free night after a long and exhausting day. 

The third photo was from a lunch with 2 other girls from the lab.  Besides the buy one get one free pizza, this was by far the best food and coffee (No picture of coffee) I have had in this little town.  It was some gluten free bread, brie, bacon, lettuce, and cranberry sauce.  Not only was it good, it was very cheap.  We finished the day off with some quick shopping. 

The fourth photo was from lunch with a friend/flatmate from my first year here.  We always have a good time just talking and enjoying coffee.  This place that we went actually had alot of gluten free choices which is always good.  I ended up having chicken and potatoes.  Next time I think I will try the gf fish and chips and hope it is better than the one in Dublin.  She and I finished our day by browsing in TK Maxx. 

I went out for a lab persons birthday.  I think people eat dinner really late here, as we didnt leave till 8:45pm.  It was an ok place, but the company was good. 

So alot of trying new places and being more sociable.  And a few skype sessions with friends and family back home, so that is always good!  I am always open for more skype sessions!  :P 

Work wise, we had to move to a new building which I don't think many of us like.  I think we are all a little anti-social and before we were in a building basically to ourselves which we loved.  There were sofas outside the lab that we all gathered around to basically look at our phones...and sometimes talk.  The kitchen/break room was small but we all gathered there to have tea/coffee/lunch.  This new building, the sofas are out in a common area where professors claim their territory so we don't get to sit there till after 5pm.  The kitchn is big, which is nice, but because we are such a close group we tend to cling together and take over the tables.  The other biomed group on our floor welcomed us to the building with tea/coffee/and food.  I am one of the only GF students so I was really excited when they provided me with lunch and breakfast for the next few days!  :)  Our group also had a pizza lunch in the new building, and even though they forgot my pizza, it was a good lunch.  This is definitely one of the best research groups I have exerienced.  We may be anti-social at times, but they are good people and always willing to help.  My one experiment has not been working for a few months, but some of the guys in the group have been trying to get it to work with me for the past few months...even getting there at 7am with me. As a group we also have breakfast every Wednesday and Friday and usually go to the discount Tuesday movies together.  We recently saw, Dunkirk, Atomic Blonde, and American Made.  I was the only one who liked Dunkirk, and didn't like the other 2 movies... I was also one of 3 girls in the theatre for Atomic Blonde.  We all belong to the gym and 2-3 of us go 3-5 days a week together and then we sit in the sauna. This is the smallest gym I have ever seen and doesn't have much to do there, so my pilates still gets done.  :)   We may be the group who constantly look at phones vs. talking to one another but we do have alot of fun together.  Writing it all, we sure do a lot of things together. 

Work wise, all is going well.  My comparative anatomy textbook that I ordered 2 months ago should finally be here in a week which will allow me to complete my chapter 1/lit review!  Ch 2 is ongoing,  3 should be done by the end of October, and ch 4 is done, just need to fix the numbering.  Chapter 5 will be started soon and hopefully finished by November, and once the experiment works (the one from above) ch 8 will be done!  I think work wise all is going pretty well.  So if anyone is interested in reading and editing, please let me know!  I pay in postcards. 

In other news, mom comes in 76 days!  I am so ready for her to come and very ready to go back and visit Dundee! 

It has been a relaxing few days recently with fixing my results and a Saturday off for the first time in forever, but now it is time to get back down to business to get all of this done and finished before mom comes!   Hopefully at least one more update before mom comes, so until next time... 

Cheers!

Finally photos!

Photo time! 

It's been a while.  I was finally able to upload a few photos!  :)  These three photos are from a lunch I talked about in the last blog from a town in Port Stewart.  Pretty right?

So, quite a bit has happened. 

I am trying to be slightly more sociable.  So, I went to lunch with more lab people in May to Bushmills hotel where I had some good food.  However, the most interesting part was it was Irish beef, and the hotel displayed an American and Canadian Flag.  I thought it was funny.  Nothing about my meal was American or Canadian...except maybe the gluten free bread?!  It was just odd and out of place.  It was nice stepping away from the lab for an hour. 

I also went to dinner in a small town called PortRush to say goodbye to one of the post-doc students.  It was at a Tapas bar, and I swear I had never seen such huge potatoes! 

I had 'chips', so called spicy meatballs, and bacon wrapped dates.  The dates were my favourite.  My mojito was good too, but not as good as the French Mojito in Dundee.   

So glad I can finally post photos.  I hope you are able to see them. 

I also had my ethics course and test, which I passed.  After several days of panic and tears in 2016 and trying to put this moment off, I passed and the test took a whole 15 minutes.  But the best part of the course was being told I had the quickest, cleanest, and best dissection the instructor has ever seen.  :)  (I would like to thank my Masters in Anatomy for that!)   I do not like to brag, but in this case, I will... Go me!  Speaking of dissection, one of the minions (AKA Placement students) was quite fascinated with how I was the girl in middle school who refused to dissect the frog.  He couldn't seem to grasp how much I refused to do it back then. 

To celebrate passing my ethics, I saw Beauty and the Beast in the cinema.  Now, some how I was the youngest person in this theatre, but yet when I went to see Finding Dory, I was one of the oldest.  Beauty and the Beast was good, but the original was better.  I wont spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it (or hasn't seen either one), but LaFou's song was my favourite. 

I have seen a few movies recently.  I joined the Biomed society, and we watched Back to the Future...and I was the oldest student there, not to mention, the only American.  It was odd that there were some that had never seen the movie.  Which I am finding out, the classic movies I grew up on, like Hocus Pocus, many people have not seen... (no names will be mentioned, but you know who you are).  I also watched Sing, which was way better than I expected and last night the lab people and I went to see The Mummy.  Honestly, do not go and waste your money on The Mummy.  The original was much better, but it was fun being out with all the international lab students. plus the one from England.  I have also been binge watching/listening to Hell's Kitchen.  After sitting in the dark room (AKA The red light district) or after killing my cells on accident, it is nice to have Gordon Ramsey take my frustrations out for me. 

I had my confirmation viva (presentation) this week so I was stressed and adding to the stress students decided to join the assessors and listen to the talks.  I just get nervous at public speaking.  However, I think I did much better at this presentation and question session than the first one.  It was still less questions and less people than the old project (and less questions than the last viva).  So, I guess I can only get better.  Luckily, only 2 more to go and the next one is a year away!  Now, I am just waiting on that official letter that says I passed.  I did get told I did very well and have a lot of data.  (I had about 26 graphs, so I guess that is good).  One supervisor said I had more data than a PhD submitted dissertation she read, so that is good. 

Besides my presentation, my lit review (Introduction chapter is done- will just have to proof read and update statistics), make edits to chapter 3 and 4 (Which should be done by December at  the latest), and continue adding to the materials chapter and start the cell chapters.  I think it is going well.  I kind of prefer working on the weekend in the lab as no one is really there so less people to get distracted with. 

The weather here has been awful, well awful by my standards, lol.  The hay fever here is like Spring back home times 100.  I feel like I have been rolled in grass and covered in cat fur.  And its hot.  Well, hot for here.  I miss the rain, and winter. 

Other than that, I started Pilates again, which has been a nice start to the morning.  I bought my first Pilates mat, and best part it was 50% off so that was even better.  I can proudly say I can do the roll-up with both legs straight on the ground. 

So all around, it has been a few good months, with passing my presentation, starting back with Pilates, and being a little more sociable.  Hopefully the next few months will be just as good. 

Enjoy the photos. 

In remembrance...

 

I have dreaded writting this blog entry.  It has been almost 2 months since my dear friend, Brett, passed away.  He received these blogs and the one I wrote while in Scotland.  My heart breaks.  Not a day has gone by where I have not thought about him.  When I moved to Scotland he challenged me to make 6 friends, and I did.  When I left to do my PhD I said I would make 6 new friends, just for him.  And I have.  We skyped as much as he was able to.  I was blessed to be his friend and considered one of the family.  He was like a father to me.  It was an amazing 6 years.   So here's to you Brett!  Thank you for your friendship, love, support, and memories.  I hope I am making your proud.  <3

One of the 6 friends I have made this past year and half invited me to spend the day with him and his family.  Brett would have been proud that I made a friend and that I went to spend the day with them. We spent a few hours catching up and talking about our projects.  He is in the faculty that I originally was in.  My friend made homemade soup with spices from his home country, Sudan.  It was a wonderful soup, one of the best I have ever had.  Then he and his family took me to the city center where he lives and showed me the seaside town of Bangor.  It has alot of boats and a savers.  :)  It was a nice day out. The day before going to Bangor, I had lunch with 2 friends in the biomedical department.  They took me to Portstewart, where we had lunch and milkshakes, and then walked along the cliff trail.  It is a beautiful seaside town.  Northern Ireland has alot of seaside towns.  Brett would have liked it here.  

Also, in these past 2 months, I had my first viva (presentation).  I did one at the old program and there were about 30+ people, followed by 20+ questions.  It was terrifying, but I passed.  This time around, I spoke in front of 10 people and had 8 questions.  I was told it was on the level of a second viva, which is good and I passed.  I should do the second viva in June/July.  I hate public speaking, but after the second one I will only have 2 more to go.  Luckily the last one only has 3-6 people listening.  This is where my introverted self shines... lol. 

I have no problem talking once I get to know the people.  When I first met Brett I sat on his sofa and hardly spoke unless I was asked questions... Of course within the 6 years, I talked his ears off about anything and everything.  I just need to channel this kind of speaking into my vivas.  :)  

Work is going well.  I finished the first full draft of my introduction, and I am about 3/4 of the way through two other chapters...just finalizing the results.  So all in all I think it is going well.  The two friends that I went to Portstewart just finished a long term study where I was asked to help dissect at the end.  I was told I was an expert dissector.  :)  Brett and I talked about dissections alot, and he was never grossed out with it, or at least he never showed it.  I think he would be proud of my dissecting reputation within this program. 

So there you have it.  Its been a crazy 2 months.  And the next month is also crazy busy for work, but I think its going to be good.  

 

I hope everyone is doing well.  

Until next time...

2017 so far..

Happy 2017! 



So I am a little late on wishing everyone a happy near year.  A lot has happened in December and January.

I was able to go home for Christmas and surprise family and friends.  Meme had no idea I was coming and seeing her reaction was great and the surprise was kept secret for several months which was even more fun.  It was great spending Christmas with Meme and the East Coast family.  If you want to see the video of her surprise, just ask.  It is nice.  :)

Before I left for the states I made sure my 100 day presentation draft was submitted, which I was successful at.  I had to condense 99 pages of work into 4-6 pages.  Without all the appendices and references, I condensed it down to 5, so not bad if I say so myself.  It is now sent off for revisions before I submit it to my doctoral panel.  Fingers crossed it goes well.

Which submitting this work has helped tremendously.  About a week or two before I left for the states, I was admitted into A&E (the ER).  I had a rash covering my body and the allergy meds did not help.  Day one, it affected my breathing.  It looked like the Kawasaki rash (I beg you to look and learn about this disease), which was my biggest concern since it started on my torso and soles of feet.  Day 2 it continued to spread and have become good friends with the occupational health (OH) nurse on campus.  She drove me to A&E.  Luckily, I know my allergy medicine and argued with the lady at Boots that diphenhydramine is an allergy pill in the states.  Over here it is classified as a strong sleeping tablet.  She doesn't know benedryl doesn't make me sleep.  Needless to say, this is what reduced the rash.  They still are unsure what caused it, but story of my life...walking medical mystery seems to continue.

I was well enough to fly home, thankfully.  Mom and a friend met me at the airport with a sign that had my name on it (Bucket list item on my end).  And my first meal in Texas was Chick-fil-a, since I cannot eat much, this was good.  :)  Mom and I spent the next several days shopping (which neither of us like, lol), surprising people, doctors appointments, and packing for Florida.   I bought scrubs, because I don't like smelling like mice and the smell lingers...so I can keep scrubs in my desk, plus scrubs are more comfortable, and bought a lot of new clothes...still hate shopping.  I was able to see a lot of people, which was nice.  I got to see Brett, which was wonderful.  Brett didn't know I was coming and Sandra did a great job keeping it from him.  I got to show him my pictures from the past year and half and catch him up on the project change and how I have made more than 6 friends.  All in all I think he was pleased and satisfied.  I also think he would like it here.  It gets cold, but not too cold, there are movie theaters, and of course hardware stores.  Mom and I went to Florida, thankfully with no tornadoes this time, and surprised Meme.  The staff at her place kept it a secret and Meme was overjoyed.  It was fun.  Christmas was good spending it with family and seeing everyone even if it meant the 2 day car ride.  On the way back to home, mom and I stopped in Houston to celebrate Hanukkah and spend time with one of my favorite professors and his family.  I love this professor and his family.  I do not think I would have taken my application to Dundee so seriously if it wasn't for him, and my project in his class.  And I do not think I would be back over here if it wasn't for him.  It was fun catching up with him and his family and having lunch and Hanukkah dinner.  After that came New Years, which I got to see my nieces and nephew and sister in law.  It was so much fun.  Ty painted my nails in all different colors, Mattie calls me Aunt Map, and Laners loves super heroes.  It was fun seeing everyone.  It sounds like a crazy trip and a whirlwind to read, but thats basically how it was... nonstop. 

I made it back safely and ended up moving flats (no surprise there) to a private one on campus.  The students aren't back yet, but so far it has been wonderful and quiet.  I had a friend of mine (one of the 6+ Brett wanted me to make) help move me in and in return he got a free lunch.  Win win on both sides.  :)  I use to live by the train, which in some weird way the train noise never bothered me.  It never blew its whistle like the train by Memes house did, and was annoying.  You could just hear and time this train.  It was a 3 minute walk to the train, which was very nice.  I moved further on campus, which I know will come with noise.  We already had a fire drill, which I hate and being 31, I'm just too old for that at 6/7am.  But having friends from the lab live 30 seconds away made the fire drill tolerable.  My new flat is about 3 minutes from the new lab, and 5 minutes from the current lab.  I was 20 minutes away from it.  This is very nice and helpful when I leave at 8-9pm at night.

My work is coming along nicely.  After Christmas I worked on staining several slides (18 out of about 100+).  My goal is/was to get all 18 stained and at least starting to analyze them for the 100 day viva.  I have heard from several students and staff that I have a lot of data, more than normal for the first presentation, so I am happy.  I have been sitting in a dark room (like one for developing photographs-with a red light) for 6-8 hours a day trying to stain these slides, and needless to say I have 16/18 done.  This is very good, as I ended up back in the hospital for 3 days this past week, still with an unknown cause.  Hospital stays in the UK are quite different from the USA...very different actually.  The OH nurse came to visit me, which was really nice, and she brought me some stuff from my flat.  She has to do a lot of health screenings on me (and other lab students) because of the nature of our work, so I am thankful she has gotten to know me real well.  I can say I am lucky that my supervisor (and his wife) are so understanding, as I do not think this would have been the case on the last project.  Anyways, I sit in this little dark room, and I play my music, sit with my scrubs on, and am so thankful that my professor (mentioned earlier) took the time to show me how to get better with a microscope.  I do not think I would last 6-8 hours a day with this microscope if it hadn't been for his help.  So thank you Dr. Thomas.

My 100 day viva is less than a month away, Feb. 21.  I am last in the group to speak, which I am happy about.  I am one of the four new PhD students, and the only girl.  I am also the only one who doesn't have a biomedical background, but I am the only one with a strong anatomical background.  Luckily, a lot of my work (and literature research) is in anatomy and physiology as well as cell biology.  I don't like to brag, but I am going to do it anyways... I have been told I am an excellent dissector (Thank you University of Dundee), I have a lot of data (more than usual) to present, and am one of the best new students that this person has worked with.  So that has helped a lot, when I do the math wrong and get frustrated...I just ask if I can dissect.  I would prefer that anyways.  :D

Thoughts, prayers, and well wishes, for Feb. 21st at 1 pm (7/8am your time) would be much appreciated.

I hope everyone is doing well and 2017 has started off as a good year for you all.  If it has, I hope it continues, and if it hasn't, I hope it gets better.

Until next time, cheers. 

Last post of 2016...

Happy holidays too all.   And Happy 4th birthday Laners!  :D

A lot has happened over these past few months. 

I moved to a new town, which is close to the coast.  And even better, it is within walking distance to the stores and doctors office.  That has been nice.

I started a different PhD project, which has been 100x better.  I have been able to dissect again, which always makes my day, and am receiving positive feedback from my supervisor and co-workers.  I got told I am an excellent dissector.  :D  That was good...didn't hurt either that in the same sentence I was told I was one of the best new PhD students there.   (Sorry to brag, but after last year...these comments are amazing!)  :)  Work wise, I do struggle with the math, which is no surprise, but I think I make up for it in my dissecting skills.  I have started writing my thesis...up to 100 pages so far.  I have a presentation in January which I have submitted the proposal and power point for already. 

I struggled with the animals.  I have dissected plenty of animals throughout my undergraduate degree and didn't think living ones would be an issue.  But the fact that they move made it weird...scary?!  I do better with dead things.  I know, I know, I am weird...  but someone has to do it!  :) But I overcame and actually prefer that area of my PhD compared to the math.  But then again, anything is better than math. 

I have met some amazing people in the lab.  They invite me to lunch, movies, and are always willing to help.  When I had to go to A&E for 2 days, they stepped in.  They checked on my cells, they checked on me, and are just all around good people.  We had our Christmas dinner the other night, which even though the food was not that good, the company was.  I got to know some of the other students better, which was nice.  I got a deck of cards in my Christmas cracker, so while we waited on the main course, 4 of us struggled to remember the rules to Go Fish, even though I do not think we played it quite right, but we got there in the end and it was fun.

University accommodation, like always has been a living nightmare.  This school thought it would be a good idea to put 2 undergraduates, a PhD student, and a Post doc student, in a flat above undergraduate guys who like to drink and party till 5 am.  Because you know, that makes sense!  One girl couldn't handle the noise and drives 2 hours to go home every night, poor thing.  Another only stays 2-3 days, another is lucky she can block it out, and I...I am moving out.  I have found a room to rent in some ladies house.  Hopefully temporarily.  But the room alone is double the size of what I have here, and it looks like it will be in a quiet neighborhood.  

I wish I had a more exciting update of things I have done or seen... but I don't.  The PhD has officially consumed my life to the point where I am lucky to leave the lab before 7pm most nights and I consider myself lucky if I don't have to go in during the weekend.  But, I enjoy it.  It is stressful at times, especially the math part, but with the help of the other students I think I can say I am doing really well.  I have only officially been at this new project since the end of September and already have 7 experiments done (4 which are having to be repeated), submitted my January presentation papers, and written 20,000+ words for my thesis draft.  I never would have pictured myself in this subject area, but it is truly fascinating.  (I wish I had paid more attention to my undergraduate lectures on this topic).  :)  

Other than that there isn't much to say. 

With all that has happened this year, the good and the bad, I am so glad 2016 is almost over., and I know I am not the only one.  :)

I hope 2017 is better for everyone. 

Happy holidays to all.  Happy new year!  And safe travels to all those traveling to see family and friends.

Love and miss you all.  

35 days and counting...

Well, the school drama has finally ended.  It resulted in me starting a new project in September at a different campus, but I know this is for the best.  I am ending my life science project and have now been switched to Biomedical Science.  This is more me.  This project will not only provide me with science and allow me to use my previous degrees, but will teach me more and help me secure a job in the field I want. 

Of course, it is a little sad that it worked out this way.  I am leaving a wonderful doctor, friends, and 9 months of hard work.  But I would rather spend the next 3 years of my life being happy and doing a project that will increase my knowledge and prepare me for the job I want. 

So in a month, I am moving about 2 hours north, and will start looking at diabetes in mice.  For about the past 2 months I have began reading on this topic, and being able to read anatomy and physiology books as well was pathology books makes me 100x happier than reading about the topic I was.  Plus, it has helped having an undergraduate professor have a fascination and research desire in diabetes.  I did well in his classes, and reading his papers, seemed easier, because I knew his teaching style.  (Hope that makes sense). 

I have been thinking a lot about this new project.  I met one of my new supervisors back in June, and I knew right then and there, I needed to be in this field of study.  I was able to sit in on a second year student's presentation (who was in a similar situation as I have been in) and the difference in the presentations between what I did and what he did was unbelievable.  I spoke to this student for about 15 minutes after his talk and as much as I like my friends here, it was nice talking about the hard sciences.  Of course, it was wonderful being called Sheldon (from Big Bang Theory).  The whole experience was just one of those "I am suppose to be here" moments, which have only happened about twice in my life.

I was walking home from the pharmacy on Monday, thinking about what I should write here.  I haven't done much.  I haven't been to anywhere worth talking about, but I did see Ghostbusters and Finding Dory.  :)   And I did have a lovely visit with 2 friends from back home who stopped here while on their cruise!  I took them to my favorite coffee place and it was wonderful catching up with them and seeing people from back home.

But I came to the conclusion that several years ago I wold have never pictured this life for me.  In 6th grade, I was told I would never amount to anything and was called stupid, but a science teacher.  In 7th grade, I freaked out dissecting my frog and owl pellet and made my guy partner do it for me. That amazing science teacher told me I had to dissect something...So I stuck the pin in the frog and pushed the skin aside.  That was it.  It grossed me out.  But something changed after that, I won't go into what all I have dissected for classes, but I have loved every minute of it.  I can still see myself in middle school, in the science classroom sitting next to my partner in the second to last row next to the wall.

I will say though, I have had some amazing science teachers.  One in particular, who told me I would do great things with my life...And now, in a month, I get to set up my own lab, get trained in handling mice, and pursue the PhD I was meant to do. 

Anyways, I have been to this new campus a few times, and so far the 2 times I have been the experience between there and here is baffling.  Plus, I don't have to take a train every time I want to walk into town, which is a huge plus.  And, the best part of that town is there is a Savers there!  Saver's is kind of like a nicer version of Big Lots, but with basically just bath and kitchen items.  I love Savers. 

So all in all, not much to really report on this side of the pond.  The weather has been warm (not as hot as America... but there is no AC here) and the pollen count has been through the roof.  I am hoping with moving north next summer will be a little less allergy ridden and confiding me to my flat.  Hope everyone is staying cool in the summer over there!

Well, that's it for now.  The next entry will take place from my new home.  :) 

And even though he doesn't read this...Happy birthday brother! 

Until next time... Love and miss you all